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Lansing Zachary Rock Above, Assault & Witness Tampering, Montana 2018
BILLINGS—A Crow Agency man has been sentenced to a total of 78 months in prison for beating his partner on the Crow Reservation and for trying to get her to not testify about the assaults, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.
Lansing Zachary Rock Above, 34, pleaded guilty in November to assault resulting in substantial bodily injury to a spouse or intimate partner and to tampering with a witness, U.S. Attorney Alme said.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided over the sentencing hearing. Rock Above was given credit for 106 days for time spent in tribal custody and was sentenced to three years of supervised release, prosecutors said.
The assault took place on February 23 and 24, 2018, in Crow Agency on the Crow Reservation. Prosecutors said Rock Above beat and strangled his intimate partner, causing bruises and injuries to her head, neck, and teeth. The victim was treated for her injuries, prosecutors said.
In March 2018, Rock Above called the victim five times on a recorded phone line from the Big Horn County Detention Facility in Basin, Wyoming, and attempted to convince the victim to not testify against him and to say nothing happened, prosecutors said. In one of the calls, Rock Above said his case would be dismissed and asked the victim, “You got my back, right?”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paulette Stewart prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the FBI. “Offenders who assault women will be prosecuted,” U.S. Attorney Alme said. “Those who also try to intimidate or threaten victims will be prosecuted again to the full extent of the law. Victims need to know they can come forward and we will use the criminal justice system to protect them,” Alme said.
The case is a reminder that the U.S. Attorney’s Office will aggressively prosecute cases involving domestic violence and witness intimidation, U.S. Attorney Alme said. The sentence is the result of a joint investigation by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the FBI.
Key Facts
- State: Montana
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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